Our village carpenter (木匠) , John, came one day and made a dining table for my wife. He made it just the right size for the space between the two windows. When I got home that evening, John was drinking a cup of tea and writing out his bill for the job.
My wife said to me quietly,“That’s his ninth cup of tea today. ”But she said, in a loud voice,“It’s a beautiful table, dear, isn’t it？”
“I’ll decide about that when I see the bill. ”I said.
John laughed and gave me his bill for the work. I read:
One dining table10 November, 1998
Cost of wood$17. 00
Paint$1. 50
Work, 8 hours ( $1 an hour )$8. 00
Total$36. 50
When I was looking at the bill, John said, “It’s been a nice day, hasn’t it？Quite sunny. ”
“Yes. ”I said. “ I’m glad it’s only the tenth of November. ”
“Me, too. ”said John. “You wait — it’ll be a lot colder by the end of the month. ”
“Yes,colder — and more expensive! A dining table will be $20 more expensive on November 30, won’t it, John？”
John looked hard at me for half a minute. Was there a little smile in his two blue eyes？I gave his bill back to him.
“If there isn’t too much trouble, John,” I said,“please add it up again. You can forget the date…”
I paid him $26. 50 and he was happy to get it.
1.Why did John talk about the weather when the writer was looking at the bill？
A. Because he didn’t want the writer to go through the bill carefully.
B. Because it was really a fine day.
C. Because he wanted the writer to check the bill carefully.
D. Because he wanted to tell the writer what the weather was like.
2.The writer thought John would ask for _______ if he made a dining table on the last day of November.
A. $20. 00B. $46. 50
C. $56. 50D. $26. 50
3.When the writer gave John the money, he was happy because _______.
A. he got what he should get for his work
B. he got much more money for his work
C. he got the money easily
D. he didn’t have to add up the costs again
4.From the story we know that ______.
A. John made a mistake in the bill
B. John tried to fool the writer in order to get more money for his work
C. John had written out the bill before the writer got home
D．John still wanted to get $36.50 for his work in the end
5.What do you think of the writer？ He is ______.
A. honestB. clever
C. foolishD. afraid
A young man went to visit a wise man living deep in the mountain for the wisdom of life.
“Excuse me! Could you please tell me what the most day in our lives is？Is it the day when we were born or the day we ？Is it the day when we fall in love or the day we succeed？”The young man asked.
“ The most important day in our lives is today. ”The wise man replied calmly.
“Why？”The young man felt more than . “Is it because there is a moving event taking place today？”
“No. Nothing has happened today. ”
“Is it because of my visit？”
“Even if nobody visited me today, today is very important because today is the only wealth we have. No matter how memorable yesterday is, it has gone by like a ship going down into the sea; no matter how bright tomorrow may be, it is yet to come; but no matter how common today is, it is our control (控制). ”
The young man still wanted to ask something, while the wise man him and said, “When we are talking about the meaning of today, we have a lot of it. ”
The young man nodded and then went down the mountain.
Actually, today is the only we have. So, what we should do now is to yesterday and tomorrow and catch fast today!
1.A. importantB. necessaryC. comfortable D. funny
2.A. missB. dieC. growD. start
3.A. NothingB. NoneC. No oneD. Neither
4.A. awful B. pleasedC. surprisedD. excited
5.A. yetB. alreadyC. everD. still
6.A. forB. underC. onD. with
7.A. stoppedB. refusedC. encouraged D. ordered
8.A. treasuredB. handedC. wasted D. avoided
9.A. excuseB. wayC. chance D. plan
10.A. forgetB. rememberC. callD. treat
Early in the morning, at noon, or in the evening in big cities and in the countryside, all over the United States, you can see Americans running — men and women, young and old. People run — along the beaches of California, Central Park in New York, down quiet streets in small towns or at the gym. Some people even run in living rooms.
Running wasn’t so popular in the past. In the 1960s, runners were mostly athletes and healthy strong people. When people saw a runner, they used ,“Hey, what’s the hurry for？”or they might say to ,“Is he crazy？”At that time, women almost never ran. If they did, they might be laughed at. But today all these have Men and women of all enjoy running.
Doctors say many of the health problems in the United States these bad habits: eating too much, smoking cigarettes, and taking exercise. Doctors tell us,“Eat less, don’t smoke, and exercise more. ”Running is a good exercise it helps build strong hearts and lungs. It also helps most people lose weight.
1.A. anywhere B. somewhere C. everywhere D. nowhere
2.A. amongB. throughC. withD. on
3.A. ourB. yourC. hisD. their
4.A. to askingB. to speakC. to speaking D. to ask
5.A. themB. themselves C. theirD. they
6.A. changedB. stoppedC. workedD. done
7.A. peopleB. citiesC. villagesD. ages
8.A. come fromB. look forC. care forD. think of
9.A. fewB. manyC. muchD. little
10.A. howB. where C. becauseD. until
— What would you like _______ your afternoon tea？
— Just a cup of coffee _______ some sugar and milk.
A. of; with B. of; without
C. for; withD. for; without
— The cars made in Germany are more expensive than ______ made in Japan.
— Yes, you are right. But they’re much better.
A. thoseB. thatC. onesD. it
When Peter comes, please ask him to leave a _______.
A. noticeB. message
C. sentenceD. information
